Saint-Pierre

Saint Pierre and Miquelon, officially the Overseas Collectivity of Saint Pierre and Miquelon (French: Collectivité d'Outre-mer de Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon; French pronunciation: ​[sɛ̃.pjɛʁ.e.mi.klɔ̃]), is a self-governing territorial overseas collectivity of France, situated in the northwestern Atlantic Ocean near the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It is the only part of New France that remains under French control, with an area of 242 square kilometres (93 sq mi) and a population of 6,080 at the January 2011 census.The islands are situated in the Gulf of St. Lawrence near the entrance of Fortune Bay, which extends into the southwestern coast of Newfoundland, near the Grand Banks of Newfoundland. They are 3,819 kilometres (2,373 mi) from Brest, the nearest point in Metropolitan France, and 25 kilometres (16 mi) from the Burin Peninsula of Newfoundland. == Etymology == Saint-Pierre is French for Saint Peter, the patron saint of fishermen.The present name of Miquelon was first noted in the form of Micquelle in the Basque sailor Martin de Hoyarçabal's navigational pilot for Newfoundland. It has been claimed that the name Miquelon is a Basque form of Michael; Mikel and Mikels are usually named Mikelon in the Basque Country. Therefore, from Mikelon it may have been written in the French way with a q instead of a k.Though the Basque Country is divided between Spain and France, most Basques live on the south side of the border and speak Spanish, and Miquelon may have been influenced by the Spanish name Miguelón, an augmentative form of Miguel meaning "big Michael". The adjoined island's name of "Langlade" is said to be an adaptation of l'île à l'Anglais (Englishman's Island). == History == Portuguese João Álvares Fagundes landed on the islands on 21 October 1520 and named the St. Pierre island group the 'Eleven Thousand Virgins', as the day marked the feast day of St. SOURCESWikipedia